What is Sorare?
Sorare is an NFT-based Fantasy Football game where you can collect your favourite football players and use them to win rewards. Managers get rewarded by utilising their teams, trading cards, and competing in Sorare tournaments called SO5.
Sorare was introduced in 2018, but a lot has happened ever since. The platform has been growing exponentially, with more clubs being licensed weekly while new players are joining every day. This is an exciting time for you to check our ultimate guide for beginners if you are thinking about diving into the Sorare world!
Remember the days when you were collecting Panini cards? Sorare is it, with a slight twist. Sorare cards are in a digital form (stored on the Ethereum blockchain), and they can win you more cards and monetary prizes (Ethereum). If you don’t love football, then this is probably why Sorare attracted you in the first place. Let’s break down the basics so that you can start your journey today.
Why So “rare”?
Sorare cards are essentially Non-Fungible-Tokens (NFTs) stored in the Ethereum blockchain. It means that Sorare will only mint a limited number of the player’s cards yearly, making them extremely valuable from a long-term perspective. Every season, Sorare can issue up to 1,111 cards per eligible player. Currently, there are four rarity levels (scarcities) of the Sorare cards:
- 1,000 Limiteds (Gold)
- 100 Rares (Red)
- 10 Super Rares (Blue)
- 1 Unique (Brown–Black)
Nonetheless, we noticed that not all 1 111 cards are released into the New Auctions Market every season. It is because there is currently a 50:40:10 allocation system in place. In theory, each season, players’ card allocation should be as follows:
50% – New Auctions Market
40% – rewards
10% – promotions
Note: Even when new cards are minted every season, eligible cards from previous seasons will still be playable! The only difference will be that they won’t have a current seasonal bonus of 5%.
Sorare Cards
There are three main ways of getting Sorare cards at the moment.
New Card Auctions – Sorare issues new cards through their market (New Card Auctions), where managers can buy cards through an auction system, the same way you would auction an item in real life, such as on eBay. Except that the prices in Sorare are shown in ETH. Don’t worry; you will still see the value in your desired currency (USD/GBP/EUR). However, we must stress that most managers sell and buy cards in ETH as the main currency instead of FIAT, which is why we recommend that you start getting used to it if you want to dive in!
Manager Sales – The same marketplace, but this time, the Sorare managers list the cards on sale. You can find some great bargains occasionally, but most of the prices are overvalued. Check Discord if you can find the manager there. If so, try a lower offer first, and see if the manager reacts (DO NOT LOWBALL THE OFFER, YOU MAY GET INSTANT BLOCK). This is an excellent way of getting to know other managers too! Make sure to connect to Sorare’s Discord channel even if you don’t plan to negotiate just yet.
Direct Offers – You can make Direct offers to other Sorare managers for any card and vice versa. Often, when you want some player, but he is not currently in the Auctions / Manager Sales, you can try to make a Direct Offer and see if the manager responds. Many managers will find it annoying, and thus, we recommend only making direct offers on listed cards.
Be aware: We have seen a lot of managers losing money because of simple mistakes they made while selling/buying cards from the marketplace. A simple error when listing your players can cost you money, especially since you have to operate in ETH instead of fiat. We suggest you double (or even triple-check) the price when you put cards on the market.
Before making any direct offers, check the average price of your desired player from Soraredata first because often, cards listed by managers are overpriced. We have also seen a few managers offering their cards and ETH for nothing. On one occasion, the manager who shared a screenshot of this was too nice and declined the offer, however, not everyone out there would do such a thing!
Do Cards Have Any Additional Value?
You may wonder if the cards have any other utility outside the Sorare platform. Yes, they do! Since the cards are stored on the blockchain, other game creators can utilise Sorare cards as Sorare does. You should check out current games where you can use Sorare cards to enter tournaments with the possibility of winning limited cards for free.
SorareAcademy – Once you have a Sorare account, you can head over to the Sorare Academy, where you can earn limited cards for free if your team gets into the TOP 15. The great thing about the Academy is that you can choose from a large base of European players, including superstars like Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland. It is a no-brainer for every Sorare manager to submit their squad since you can win Sorare cards without owning any of them.
SorareMega uses an identical mechanism as SO5 Sorare. Once on their site, you can link your Sorare account to synchronise your cards with their platform. You will then have the chance to build a team of 3, 5, 8 and 11 to compete for limited cards every week (provided that you have cards which will play).
SorareData – apart from being the best resource for Sorare managers, it also offers in-game tournaments. Similarly to SorareMega, you must use your cards to enter the tournaments. You will also have the option to create your private league where you can compete with your friends or colleagues!
UbiSoft OneShot League – This was one of the best ways for new players to win new cards because everyone started from scratch. Managers had a selection of players to choose from. The only significant difference was that once you used a player, you couldn’t use them in the following fixtures. Nonetheless, Sorare management announced that this was a 1-year project and is not planning on continuing, but it’s worth knowing about it because it might come back in the future!
Sorare’s Scoring Matrix
Players score points based on their real-life performance. They get between 0 to 100 points unless they do not start at all, in which case, the player would have a DNP (Did Not Play). You want to avoid such situations, so make sure to check if your player will start or not. Sometimes it’s easy to say (injury, suspensions), but your players can get rotated. Make sure to DYOR to enhance your chances in SO5 tournaments!
At the moment, the Player’s Score is calculated as follows: Player Score: Decisive score + All-Around score (0 if the value is negative)
Decisive score:
Decisive points are currently being calculated using the below formula: Starters begin with 35 points (Substitutes get 25 points). Every positive impact will bring the player to the next level and vice versa. Negative impacts will decrease the player’s level. Players get a guaranteed score from Level 1 and higher (60, 70, 80 and so on). This means the player’s overall score won’t be lower than the minimum guaranteed score listed below. For instance, if a player reaches Level 2, his minimum overall score will be 70, regardless of his all-around score.
| Level | Points | Guaranteed |
|---|---|---|
| -1 | 15 | NO |
| 0 | 35 | NO |
| 1 | 60 | YES |
| 2 | 70 | YES |
| 3 | 80 | YES |
| 4 | 90 | YES |
| 5 | 100 | YES |
| Positive Actions | Negative Actions |
|---|---|
| Goal | Red card |
| Assist | Own goal |
| Penalty won | Penalty conceded |
| Clearance off the line | An error leading to a goal |
| Clean Sheet (GK only) | 3+ conceded goals (GK only) |
| Penalty save | |
| The last man tackle |
All-round score:
The all-around score is more complex because it uses secondary data that are more difficult to track during live games. Sorare believes that the all-around score enables them to more accurately evaluate a player’s score, especially for defensive positions.
Bonus score:
Bonus scores are important because they will get you those few missing points you need for a reward. At the moment, there are three types of bonuses a card can have:
- Captain – 20%
- Level bonus – depends on the XP your card gained and its scarcity.
- Seasonal bonus – 5% – this bonus expires once the next season cards are minted for the particular player. In case Sorare decides not to mint new cards in the next season, the 5% bonus remains for the next season.
How to play Sorare?
- Sign-up and get your free Common cards
- Complete the Onboarding Process
- Assemble your first Sorare team
- Enter Sorare’s weekly tournaments (SO5)
Starting your Sorare journey
The Onboarding Process
- Sign-up for Sorare. You can use our link below (Once you buy five limited cards, you will get one limited card for free). Don’t be fools like us and not use one, we missed this chance, but you don’t have to!
- Once you sign-up, you can pick your favourite teams (it seems you can add many of them, but we recommend sticking with 3-4 max). Pick 1- 2 well-performing teams, such as FC Bayern or Real Madrid CF, whilst adding a team from lower-tier leagues, such as AFC Ajax or PSV Eindhoven.
- The scoring mechanism is particular in Sorare. You would be surprised how Ajax/PSV or Benfica players are rocking since their teams usually perform very well in their league. This means it doesn’t matter if you have a high-profile player. Any player can score great numbers if they perform well in real life!
- Note: Your favourite pick will influence the onboarding Common cards which you will receive.
- Congrats! You have just received your first 5 Common cards. Sorare will tell you more about the cards and leagues in the following steps. You can skip these as long as you finish our Ultimate Guide. Once done, you will be asked to enter a tournament with the Common cards you just received.
- You will receive another 5 Common cards (We have noticed that these players don’t have to be from your favourite picks). As you can see from our example, we chose Real Madrid CF, AFC Ajax and Liverpool FC as our favourites; however, our second batch of 5 Commons gave us the following players:
- Note: We saw this trend three times as we helped our friends to set up their accounts, but it doesn’t mean it’s a golden rule. Let us know in the comments if you received the second batch of 5 Commons from your favourite picks!
- Now you have to follow your first player. In the meantime, Sorare will explain some basics about the cards, and finally, you will receive the last Common card, making it the 12th Common card you received from the Onboarding Process.
- Note: The 12th card seems to be based on your favourite pick too. At least we got James Milner from Liverpool, whilst my colleague got Mauro Icardi (He picked PSG as one of his teams)
- That’s it for the Onboarding Process. At this point, Sorare will ask whether you want to enter the New Card Auctions / Manager Sales right away, but you can skip this step for now if you want to look around first.
Weekly Tournaments
The great news about Sorare is that it hosts many weekly tournaments where you can enter and win rewards (Tuesday-Friday, Friday-Tuesday). A new tournament structure was implemented in May 2021 when Sorare introduced new divisions. Sorare itself has provided the best explanation in one image. We feel it’s the one that everyone will easily understand!
Leagues
The Global Level
- All-Star League: 5 Divisions; any player can enter
- Under 23 League: 5 Divisions, but only players under 23 as of July 1st of the previous year can enter
- The Casual League: Sorare’s free-to-play League where managers have unlimited entries to compete for a Limited card with their Common cards
The Regional Level
- Champion Europe: 5 Divisions, any player from the top 5 European football leagues can enter (Premier League, La Liga, Seria A, Bundesliga and Ligue 1)
- Champion America: 5 Divisions, any player from American leagues covered by Sorare (MLS, Superliga Argentina, Liga MX, Colombian Primera A, Brasileiro Seria A Peruvian Primera División)
- Champion Asia: 5 Divisions, any player from Asian leagues covered by Sorare (J1 League, K League and Chinese Super League)
- Challenger Europe: 5 Divisions, any player outside the top 5 European football leagues. This includes (Belgium Pro League, Danish Superliga, English Championship, Eredivisie, Portuguese Liga, Russian Premier League, Scottish Premiership and Turkish Super Lig)
The Mix Level
- Training League: You can use any cards (Common, Limited, Rare, Super Rare and Unique) to gain XP when you can’t fit them into your competing teams.
- Special Events: These vary every week. Any combination of cards is possible as long as they match the criteria. For instance, in one of the weeks, the requirement was to use players from Belgium Pro League.
As you could have seen from the Sorare picture, there are currently 5 Divisions you can participate in. Which ones you choose rather depends on your budget. Today, it is common that new managers would jump into Division 5 (Limited cards only).
Ultimately, you will want to jump into Division 4 (4 Rares with 1 fillable common card). This is great because if you have managed to pack a great common goalkeeper, you can use him because Rare goalkeepers are quite expensive and will take up a lot of your budget if you plan to buy one!
NOTE: There will be a significant change in Division 4. From August 2022, only Rare cards will be able to enter the competition, which means you won’t be able to use Common goalkeepers anymore!
We will talk about the best strategies for every budget in other articles.
How do cards score points?
This is important for managers that want to become successful in Sorare. By learning how Sorare’s scoring system works, you will be able to identify some hidden gems before others do. You will also know who to buy, who not to focus and so much on.
For example, we have noticed that some reliable players in positions CDM / CM tend to score well because they get a lot of touches with the ball and because some of them also have a great ability to distribute the ball. These are the small things you should know about, and you won’t find similar information on any other Sorare blog, so make sure to stick with us!
| Position | GK |
|---|---|
| Yellow card | – 3 |
| Error leading to a shot | – 5 |
| Save | + 2 |
| Shot inside the box saved | + 1 |
| Good high claim | + 1,2 |
| Punch | + 1,2 |
| Dive save | + 3 |
| Dive catch | + 3,5 |
| Cross not claimed | – 5 |
| Six-second violation | – 5 |
| Good smother | + 5 |
| Accurate keeper sweeper move | + 5 |
| Accurate goal kick | + 0,2 |
| Big chance created | + 3 |
| Key pass | +2 |
| Accurate long ball | + 0,2 |
| Shot on target | + 3 |
| Position | DEF | MID | FWD |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foul made | – 1 | – 0,5 | 0 |
| Foul against | 0 | + 0,5 | + 1 |
| Yellow card | – 3 | – 3 | – 3 |
| Error leading to a shot | – 1 | – 3 | – 1 |
| Goal conceded | – 2 | – 2 | 0 |
| Clean sheet | + 10 | 0 | 0 |
| Blocked shot | + 2 | + 1 | 0 |
| Blocked cross | + 1 | + 1 | 0 |
| Interception won | + 3 | + 2 | 0 |
| Effective clearance | + 0,5 | 0 | 0 |
| Tackle won | + 3 | + 3 | 0 |
| Possession won | + 0,5 | + 0,5 | 0 |
| Possession lost | – 1 | – 0,5 | – 0,1 |
| Duel won | + 1,5 | + 0,5 | + 0,5 |
| Duel lost | – 2 | – 0,5 | – 0,5 |
| Big chance created | + 3 | + 3 | + 3 |
| Key pass | + 2 | + 2 | + 2 |
| Accurate pass | + 0,1 | + 0,1 | + 0,1 |
| Long pass into opp. half | + 0,5 | + 1 | 0 |
| Accurate final third pass | + 0,5 | + 0,3 | + 0,1 |
| Accurate long ball | + 0,5 | + 0,5 | 0 |
| Missed pass | – 0,2 | – 0,2 | 0 |
| Shot on target | + 3 | + 3 | + 3 |
| Contest won | + 0,5 | + 0,5 | + 0,5 |
| Penalty area entry | + 0,5 | + 0,5 | + 0,5 |
| Big chance created | – 5 | – 5 | – 5 |
| Penalty kick missed | – 5 | – 5 | – 5 |
| Double double | + 4 | + 4 | + 4 |
| Triple double | + 6 | + 6 | + 6 |
| Triple triple | + 12 | + 12 | + 12 |
Double double: 2 in any 2 categories of interceptions, won tackles and net duels (no Triple double)
Triple double: At least 2 interceptions, won tackles and net duels (no Triple triple)
Triple triple: At least 3 interceptions, won tackles and net duels
Game week prizes
What can you win with Sorare cards? You may ask this question straight away when you first join. Recently, Sorare shifted to a Dynamic Rewards System, which allocates Ethereum (ETH) + Cards based on the number of available games each week. In simple terms, more matches = more rewards. On the other hand, fewer games will result in fewer rewards too.
Get your first team
You will have to deposit some funds into your Sorare wallet before you can buy your first cards. There are currently three main ways of depositing.
1. Ramp – Probably the easiest and most convenient way for newcomers and folks that don’t have a Metamask. We used Revolut as our preferred method, which worked like a charm. Ramp will take a small fee, but you won’t have to worry about gas fees, which Sorare covers!
2. Use a digital wallet such as Metamask, Wallet Connect and Coinbase Wallet. We recommend this method for people with crypto experience and those looking to spend big. We suggest buying ETH from an exchange, such as Binance or Kucoin, and then transferring your ETH to a digital wallet. From there, you can connect your digital wallet to your Sorare account.
Note: There are gas fees associated with this method. The fee will depend on the day and time you want to deposit
3. MoonPay – MoonPay is a third-party collaborator that allows users to deposit ETH using traditional methods such as debit/credit cards. The deposit process is relatively simple and seems to be an excellent addition for all Sorare managers.
4. Acquire new cards straight from your credit/debit card. This is a quick method; however, you can only buy new cards directly through the “Buy now” button. You will also pay a small transaction fee (Some banks avoid fees, such as Monzo), and since you won’t have ETH directly, you will not be able to make offers down the line.
Now that you have some ETH in your Sorare wallet, you are ready to start your Sorare journey!
Bid on your first Sorare card
As we already mentioned, you have three options for how to purchase Sorare cards. At first, we recommend trying some bidding on the New Auction Market. Familiarise yourself with the platform, check how the mechanics work and so on. We will share more tips and tricks about the Auction Market and trading in a dedicated post!
Auctions work similarly, as you can imagine, except for the fact that the main currency is ETH.
How to make money with Sorare?
Sorare is more exciting because unless like other crypto games in the space, it can make you some serious money if you are willing to give it all! Take it this way, the more time you are eager to put in, the higher your chances that you will be able to make some money off Sorare in the long term. Let’s break down your current options:
- Trade cards
- Earn cards and prizes from tournaments
- Go for the Thresholds
NOTE: Do you know some players that have the potential to become a star and are currently cheap? If so, buy them and hope they will gain in popularity next year(s). Of course, things won’t work out every time, but if they do, you can expect great ROI if they start performing well.
Training in Sorare
During game weeks, you can let your players that did not make it into the SO5 tournaments to train. By doing so, the cards will gain levels and earn experience points, which in turn, will increase the bonus points you will get.
Useful resources
Undoubtedly, great resources will bring your game to the next level. Having crucial information, such as updated news on injuries, contract extensions, or potential transfers, can be a game-changer! Thankfully, there are some great third-party websites and apps which will definitely help you. Let’s have a look at the best Sorare resources we know about at the moment.
Soraredata – Everyone’s favourite research tool for research and analysis.
Transfermarkt – Great for analysing players’ market value, injuries and suspensions.
SofaScore – Sometimes, we use Sofascore to check predicted lineups.
FotMob – Our go-to website when it comes to live scores, predicted lineups and even injuries.
WhoScored – All types of football statistics that might help you find the next hidden gem.
101GreatGoals – A great site offering up-to-date football news (mainly Europe)
Rotowire – Offers predicted lineups of the main 5 European leagues, including the MLS and the Liga MX.
21Wise’s TOP TIPS
- Start learning prices in ETH as soon as possible, and watch out for the decimals!
- Watch out for trading scammers
- Soraredata – Simply your new best friend if you want to be active on Sorare
- Get into the community on Discord
- Go through Sorare’s Blog and Help Centre
What next?
If you found our Sorare beginner’s guide helpful, we invite you to explore more articles on our website. There’s a wealth of information waiting for you! Additionally, if you’re ready to dive into the world of Sorare and start your own exciting journey, feel free to use the below to sign up. Happy exploring and best of luck in your Sorare adventures!
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